Teachers who are serving in government schools on a contractual basis after clearing the teacher eligibility test may face a major salary slash.
Assam education department officials said the Centre had decided to cap a contractual teacher’s salary at Rs 15,000, The Telegraph reported.
Earlier, it used to give 90 per cent of the salaries of these teachers, who enjoyed salaries like a permanent government employee.
The decision comes at a time the Centre has decided to merge Rashtriya Madhyamik Shiksha Abhiyan (RMSA) and Sarba Siksha Abhiyan (SSA), triggering fears that many TET teachers might lose their jobs.
“No teacher will lose job. But the Centre’s salary cap has raised another problem. Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal has already written to the Centre to maintain the earlier funding pattern,” the newspaper quoted an official of education department as saying.
If the Centre rejects Sonowal’s request, it will put an additional burden of Rs 430 crore on the state exchequer to pay the present salaries of the contractual TET teachers working under SSA alone.
“To avoid this additional burden, the state government will have no option other than slash the salaries of the teachers,” he said.
In Assam, SSA and RMSA have been functioning as two different identities. While SSA covered students from six to 14 years of age, RMSA covered students above 14 years of age (till they turned 18).
“There have been problems in monitoring a section of schools which fall in the ambit of both the departments. Besides, duplicity in data were found in such schools. These issues will be resolved once both the departments are merged,” another official said.
The Centre had on Friday held a meeting with officials of both the departments in New Delhi to review the annual budget proposal and plans for next year.